Need a higher MPG, small, reliable easy to work on DD ($12k or so)

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Some fuckstick broad decided to stop short on a 2 lane highway to let someone in oncoming traffic turn in front of her. She was turning right, slowing down then stopped so I smashed the wise and beautiful woman's rear end with my Elantra (03). Did about $1,500 worth of damage to her Suburban, my Elantra is toast.

I've been driving my Miata in the meantime, and just not going to cut it long-term. So I'm not looking for something sporty or "fun" to drive (not that it would hurt), I already have that covered.

I'd like something with the following parameters:

High MPG (used to 30mpg in my Elantra)

Reliable/easy to work on (had very few problems out of my Elantra, and almost every problem I could fix myself). Nothing real exotic that a shade tree mechanic couldn't fix (my dad has a guy who fixes cars on the side, if it's something I can't do myself).

Relatively small. I like smaller cars, easy to park, zip in and out of traffic, etc.

Cheaper the better. I don't care about amenities like a sound system (can replace it myself), prefer cloth interior. Manual seats and such are fine. I paid $3,800 for that Elantra, so I ain't embarassed to drive something rather old, as long as it meets my criteria.


Suggestions? Have considered:

Honda Fit
Yarises (Yarii?)
Accord/Civic

Thought about a MINI, but no stealerships around here to work on it in case something went really wrong.
Carolla

 

[mmntech]

Ford Fiesta starts at $13,200 new. 38mpg highway. Seriously. I really like driving them.

2005 era Civics go for about $8000. 33mpg combined. The things rarely need any major maintenance. They just keep going. My alternator notwithstanding of course!

 

[jhu]

Used Prius. Used Insight.

 

[Doppel]

Ford Fiesta starts at $13,200 new. 38mpg highway. Seriously. I really like driving them.

2005 era Civics go for about $8000. 33mpg combined. The things rarely need any major maintenance. They just keep going. My alternator notwithstanding of course!

Can a fiesta REALLY be bought new for that price and does it come with AC?

Priuses are good cars normally but right now used prices are stratospheric and if you buy one you'll very likely get gouged.

 

[Eli]

I'd recommend an Insight if I was sure a 2 seater would do it for you.

You can't beat 60MPG+, and they should be ultra reliable in your price range. They're very reliable already, but a newer model still under warranty would probably be good if you don't want any issues.

 

[tortillasoup]

Ford Fiesta starts at $13,200 new. 38mpg highway. Seriously. I really like driving them.

2005 era Civics go for about $8000. 33mpg combined. The things rarely need any major maintenance. They just keep going. My alternator notwithstanding of course!

The Ford Fiesta became passe when the 2011 Hyundai Elantra came out. Not only does the Elantra get better fuel economy, but it's actually a midsize car and its starting price is only $15,600! But that's only if you want a new car.. After reading about the latest Elantra, it makes the Fiesta seem very underwhelming. This or the Prius are the only interesting economical cars I'd consider at this time since the latest Civic is just a crappy overpriced rehash and the Corolla/yaris are extremely dated by now and are in need of a refresh. Not to mention have a cheap interior.

 

[Kroze]

It's never your fault isn't it. Yep the bitch causes you to tailgate and ultimately rearended her.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

It's never your fault isn't it. Yep the bitch causes you to tailgate and ultimately rearended her.

It's a blind curve on a 55MPH highway. She yielded the right of way resulting in a collision. It'll likely end up being 50/50.

 

[Viperoni]

I have an Echo (basically a yaris), very simple to work on.

 

[Monster_Munch]

The Ford Fiesta became passe when the 2011 Hyundai Elantra came out. Not only does the Elantra get better fuel economy, but it's actually a midsize car and its starting price is only $15,600! But that's only if you want a new car.. After reading about the latest Elantra, it makes the Fiesta seem very underwhelming. This or the Prius are the only interesting economical cars I'd consider at this time since the latest Civic is just a crappy overpriced rehash and the Corolla/yaris are extremely dated by now and are in need of a refresh. Not to mention have a cheap interior.

The fiesta is actually really fun to drive, plus it doesn't have a hyundai badge!

 

[LTC8K6]

It's a blind curve on a 55MPH highway. She yielded the right of way resulting in a collision. It'll likely end up being 50/50.

Not a chance of 50/50 imo.

100% on you.

 

[ElFenix]

The Ford Fiesta became passe when the 2011 Hyundai Elantra came out. Not only does the Elantra get better fuel economy, but it's actually a midsize car and its starting price is only $15,600! But that's only if you want a new car.. After reading about the latest Elantra, it makes the Fiesta seem very underwhelming. This or the Prius are the only interesting economical cars I'd consider at this time since the latest Civic is just a crappy overpriced rehash and the Corolla/yaris are extremely dated by now and are in need of a refresh. Not to mention have a cheap interior.

elantra is a compact

 

[MagickMan]

Isn't the new 2012 Versa supposed to be decent?

 

[MotF Bane]

Not a chance of 50/50 imo.

100% on you.

This. Even if she's an idiot for stopping as described, you're probably screwed.

 

[tortillasoup]

elantra is a compact

2011 Elantra is officially designated as a Midsize car according to the government... (EPA?)

 

[LTC8K6]

2011 Elantra is officially designated as a Midsize car according to the government... (EPA?)

So the Fiesta and Elantra aren't competing then.

A Focus is a compact, despite having nearly the same pax volume as the Elantra.

 

[tortillasoup]

So the Fiesta and Elantra aren't competing then.

A Focus is a compact, despite having nearly the same pax volume as the Elantra.

They compete on fuel economy (same), price, and performance. The Fiesta tends to come out to a very hefty $18K in a lot of configurations while the Elantra can actually be had for $16,700 and you don't have to spend extra to get the version with good fuel economy either. To me, you buy a compact car for the fuel economy and for the price, and the Elantra imo beats it in both regards. As for the Fiesta being more sporty than the Elantra, I think that remains to be fully tested. Also to say that the Fiesta has very nearly the same room as the Elantra is a very serious disservice to the Elantra.. The Fiesta has no rear leg room has much less cargo space and is correctly identified as a Subcompact car while the Elantra is correctly attributed to being a midsize car. According to the fuel economy website, the Elantra has 96ft³ of passenger space and 15ft³ of cargo space while the Fiesta has 85ft³ of passenger space and 12ft³ of cargo space. Since the high fuel economy Fiesta is a hatchback, most of that "space" is vertically oriented which depending on what you're transporting, may be much better or much worse thing.

 

[LTC8K6]

The Ford name will likely be worth more to the average buyer as well.

I doubt many folks will cross shop an Elantra and a Fiesta, despite the pricing, and despite most reviewers calling it a compact car.

Reviewers seem to think people will want the luxury items in the Elantra. That is, they will outfit it like a Focus.

 

[ElFenix]

2011 Elantra is officially designated as a Midsize car according to the government... (EPA?)

interesting. it's 4 tenths of a cubic foot into midsize territory. the cruze is also midsize.

 

[KIAman]

interesting. it's 4 tenths of a cubic foot into midsize territory. the cruze is also midsize.

I see this trend a lot. The Accords and Sonatas are midsize sedans that creep into Large sedans according to interior space.

To the OP, buying new might be good for now considering used prices are so inflated for compacts.

New elantra will give you 10 years of peace of mind and it looks like a baby Sonata.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

I see this trend a lot. The Accords and Sonatas are midsize sedans that creep into Large sedans according to interior space.

To the OP, buying new might be good for now considering used prices are so inflated for compacts.

New elantra will give you 10 years of peace of mind and it looks like a baby Sonata.

I'm starting to see that. Seems like now is a bad time to be buying a car. Foreign anyway. People moving to compacts because of gas prices, and there are new car shortages due to decreased output in Japan.

I'm looking more into the new Elantra, seems like people are really digging it.

 

[PlasmaBomb]

It's a blind curve on a 55MPH highway. She yielded the right of way resulting in a collision, as she is allowed to. It'll likely end up being 50/50 my fault.

Fixed for you.

 

[KIAman]

Mental note to everyone who viewed this thread.

Do not include justification of a car purchase. LOL.

 

[Kelvrick]

Fixed for you.

Within her rights, but completely dangerous and a stupid thing to do. I almost got T-boned the other night because of someone who did something similar.

Coming off of the freeway off-ramp to a T intersection where cross-traffic both have stop-signs. I'm in the outside lane when a stupid bitch in an SUV (confirmed it was a female driver) decides to STOP in front of some other random car instead of completing her left turn, prompting the scion TC to proceed through the stop sign just as I'm coming around the outside of the Bitch.

I say SUV because the size of her SUV likely played a part in blocking my car from the TC's view. See paint picture below.

 

[desy]

How come the grey car has a border and none of the other cars do?
Is it an option?